Calling the World
by lostrevelations
Summary: She longed to be a bird and fly away. He felt the same, but they were trapped, never to escape. She promised herself to protect all that she loved, he swore on his grave to never give up. As their fates entwine, can they live up to what the world expects?


**Summary:** She longed to be a bird and fly away. He felt the same, but they were both trapped, never to escape. She promised herself she would protect all that she loved, he swore on his grave to never give up. As their lives are entwined and their fates tangled, can they live up to who the rest of the world expects them to be?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Card Captor Sakura, or any of the characters.

_**We are birds,**_

_Her wings are spread,  
She's stuck here on the ground  
She's not heavy, she's my world  
I'll carry her around  
I hear her breathing, that's my favorite sound._

_If you're a bird then I'm a bird  
But if you can't fly then neither will I  
Cause then love is not the right time to die._

**(Year 1219, Japan)**

**Prologue: We are birds**

She was told from her beginning that she would be responsible for carrying on the family name. The only thing anyone ever cared about at that time. After all, nothing was worth more then what a name and its status meant. A name was originally supposed to tell something of its character or whom it belonged to but in reality, it wasn't like that. A name was a tool, a tool to climb to higher success, higher power.

Kinomoto. The family had been known across Japan as one of the most powerful, prestigious and wealthiest. The mere sound of the name was enough to silence people, stop them in their tracks. Until the day everything came crashing down.

Their family had lost everything, yet they kept their name. No one but them and the royal household (their closest friends) could know what happened to them, no one could know they had succumbed into nothing. Their name was the only thing that lived, the only thing that survived from the ghastly mess. And she was the one to carry it into the future.

Sakura Kinomoto. Destined to be the next queen of Japan, the future wife of Syaoran Li, the next big figure in women's history, she was the one responsible for the fate of her household as well as that of the royal family. The marriage between her and the royal family was to determine it all and seal everything at last. If everything went according to plan, her family would rise to their original position once again, they would have all that they needed once more. Everything was left up to her.

She could not break free; the invisible iron cage trapped both her and her dreams inside. She had accepted that fact, although she still held onto the hope that maybe somehow, she would able to fly away.

Sakura had watched her mother die, die from a disease that they could not cure because they had no money to send for a doctor. She had watched her mother live her entire life trapped inside that invisible iron cage, with no power to escape. Nadeshiko had tried but in the end, was unable to succeed and so she had left the dream to her only daughter. Sakura had been helpless to save her mother and could only watch as Nadeshiko diminished slowly right before her eyes, until finally, there was nothing left, not even a faint breath.

It was then that she promised herself she would never go through that again. She would never watch, helpless, while someone she loved was suffering before her very eyes. It was because of this that she agreed to the marriage. The royal family, the Li household would give her everything. She would never ever lose something she loved again.

And so she knew all she had to look forward to was a lifetime of being treated like an object, something for everyone to admire like she had no true feeling or emotions. She knew it and yet she was determined to keep her vow to herself because if there was one thing that tore her apart more then the rest, it was losing what she treasured the most.

_**Flashback ----------**_

_Nadeshiko lay on the bed on the ground, her breathing heavy, slowly fading. Besides her, Fujitaka Kinomoto held her hands clasped together as he stared ahead, darkness penetrating his eyes. The eyes that showed nothing, not even a tear for his dying wife. His silence filled the empty air as his wife tightened her hold on him. "Sakura," she whispered. The one simple word, the one simple name was enough for him to understand. _

_He nodded and ran outside but came back moments later, holding onto the hands of a small girl. The girl known as Sakura. He gave her a gentle push in the direction of her mother and she ran towards Nadeshiko, her eyes huge with fear._

"_Mother," Sakura whispered, fighting back tears. She knelt down besides the beautiful woman, her mother and buried her face in the blankets. "It's too late," her mother replied. "I can't be helped."_

"_But why?" Sakura asked, her voice filling with sadness. "Why do you have to leave?" Her mother did not reply but gave Sakura a small smile. "Stay strong, stay strong, you must stay strong." Nadeshiko said. "You are priceless, and you will grow up to be an amazing woman." Her voice was fading fast, but she kept it steady. _

"_I don't want you to leave, not yet, not now." Sakura said. Nadeshiko sighed, a lingering sigh indicating she knew how her daughter felt. She could tell her time was ending, death was approaching the door. Mustering the last of her strength, she reached up to stroke her daughter's cheek tenderly as she said her last words._

"_You may sell your thoughts for money but your soul is only for love. When the time comes, be a bird and fly away." Sakura was too young to understood the meaning behind those words, but she placed them inside her heart, locked up until the day she would need to find them again._

_Then Nadeshiko died, leaving behind only her daughter, Sakura Kinomoto to fend for herself. _

_And so her story begins here._

Note: I revised the prologue to make it a lot longer because I suddenly had a flash of realization of what I wanted the story to be about. I am pretty sure I know how to continue from here on out, so look forward to more chapters soon. I'm on Thanksgiving Break so I have some time to write fanfiction and I hope I can get somewhere this week. Tell me what you guys think of this. Should I continue? I'm trying to re-create something new from the old.


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